Saturday, April 19, 2014

cultural supremacy mechanics...,


pnas |  An outstanding open problem is whether collective social phenomena occurring over short timescales can systematically reduce cultural heterogeneity in the long run, and whether offline and online human interactions contribute differently to the process. Theoretical models suggest that short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity are mutually excluding, since they require very different levels of social influence. The latter jointly depends on two factors: the topology of the underlying social network and the overlap between individuals in multidimensional cultural space. However, while the empirical properties of social networks are intensively studied, little is known about the large-scale organization of real societies in cultural space, so that random input specifications are necessarily used in models. Here we use a large dataset to perform a high-dimensional analysis of the scientific beliefs of thousands of Europeans. We find that interopinion correlations determine a nontrivial ultrametric hierarchy of individuals in cultural space. When empirical data are used as inputs in models, ultrametricity has strong and counterintuitive effects. On short timescales, it facilitates a symmetry-breaking phase transition triggering coordinated social behavior. On long timescales, it suppresses cultural convergence by restricting it within disjoint groups. Moreover, ultrametricity implies that these results are surprisingly robust to modifications of the dynamical rules considered. Thus the empirical distribution of individuals in cultural space appears to systematically optimize the coexistence of short-term collective behavior and long-term cultural diversity, which can be realized simultaneously for the same moderate level of mutual influence in a diverse range of online and offline settings.

11 comments:

CNu said...

creepy at 2:30 when Bishop Eddie went to grunting about "where his young people at, where his sporty, shorty?" etc....,

anyway - I don't think that's where Ken gets his talking points from. Our online acquaintance goes all the way back to blackprof.org and like Bro. ConFeed, Ken has been an active proponent and voice of conservative outreach to black moderates. Unfortunately for his mission, I'm very hard pressed to recall a single issue that Ken's been on the right side of. See, his conservatism is a product of this specific mode of human livestock management, when applied to evangelical protestant christian social collectives:It’s my main thesis in this series that conservatism is not
fundamentally about ideology, but about the preservation of elite power,
maintained as a form of identity politics. Elites then claim “natural”
leadership, in the name of protecting, defending and exemplifying the
group identity against evil, enemy “others.” Ideology matters to the
conservative project solely as a means for justification, including
identity formation. It supports the forms of policies, practices and
institutions that preserve group identity and power—and, thereby, elite
rule. Consistency matters to this ideology only insofar as it proves
necessary. Therefore, “the abandonment of conservative principles” is
to be expected when those principles no longer serve those in power.http://patternsthatconnect.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-racism-changes-formconservatism-as.html imoho - Ken is a tireless but mostly unwitting apologist for that set of elites who have worked assiduously to build a mass bulwark within protestant evangelical denominations here in the midwest. Whatever folks like the Kochs do and want done, he will promote and defend.

woodensplinter said...

Do I interpret this correctly to mean that elites control both the short-term and long-term patterns of behavior within a culture - that the hierarchical distribution of elites, like the the distribution of seasoning in a recipe, determine the "flavor" of the culture?

ken said...

Actually, I rather enjoyed our church's last sermon series we are on for lent. It's on Spiritual maturity. I suspect if you ever want to stop for a spiritual distraction in celebration of easter you would find these lessons pretty far away from the guy you posted here.

http://www.betheltwincities.org/media.php?pageID=26

CNu said...

Interesting. It appears you'd make a far better roman catholic Ken. What with the lamb of christ ethical praxis being taught as the embodiment of spiritual praxis and the soldier of kissinger/cheney politics you've given voice to - lo these many years. How you reconcile these overtly irreconcilable postures, except in uncritical service to those in power, is now and has always been a most amazing feat to me.

Give me the ear-taking soldier of jesus at all times and in all ways - no exceptions.

Vic78 said...

Just having fun at Ken's expense. And I rarely miss an opportunity to take shots at a tv preacher.

It's crazy that he believes the people at the bottom should just accept being there because they don't know better. It was clever for certain parties to use the church to take over politically. You have a captive audience that's ready to believe anything the man in the pulpit tells them. And you have well funded organizations that operate with little oversight. People find churches non threatening. Conservatism has an appeal to people that value their religion. Their alliance with the churches gives them a head start in any competition with non conservatives.

John Kurman said...

I think it's more like the cladistics of a cultural tool kit shows up as an ultrametric because only some few are ever working on any one thing, but then you get rubber hitting the road with popular use.

ken said...

I'm not sure what you mean by I would make a far better Roman Catholic, but I think it was a compliment. As for your ideas on how I can have my point of view and striving to know and be like Christ, I am not really sure what political point of view you would want to challenge in a scriptural "what is God's will" format, you have never really discussed or given authority to the Bible or the God in the Bible to actually flesh out a political point of view Biblically.

We of course all have inconsistencies we don't measure up to according to the Bible, but from your comments it appears you find mine much more obvious. Perhaps you would be right, I wonder if either of us is opposite enough of bull headed to admit if the other one is right according to the Bible if we were to engage in such a discussion of discussing political points of view Biblically. I hope I would be.

"Give me the ear-taking soldier of jesus at all times and in all ways - no exceptions."



Of course we know that's not the will of God. It wasn't then at least.

John Kurman said...

I'm interested in the fact I had to be stoned to understand this article. It was all gibberish when I read it straight earlier in the day.

BigDonOne said...

It's really very simple - let BD translate for you: All human behavior is basically driven by individually hard-wired genetic tendencies...

CNu said...

lol, when you busted that cladistic ultrametric toolkit isht, I was like, dayyum that's some goodass weed....,

John Kurman said...

http://youtu.be/H0OaeMYTbs4

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